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Evan Silva

Draft Analysis

Top 20 Recommended Targets

17. Jaguars RB Rashad Jennings - Whether or not Maurice Jones-Drew (knee) makes it through a full season, the Jaguars' coaching staff has big plans for its backup tailback. Jennings has earned it. Excellent in pass protection and as a receiver, Jennings is averaging 6.28 yards per touch in his last six games, and for good measure tacked on 4.67 yards per carry against the Patriots' first-team defense in the preseason opener. This isn't a player to be taken lightly. Because of his three-down tools, it's not crazy to think Jennings will make the Jags' backfield a committee this year. He's that good, and the team must find a way to lighten Jones-Drew's load.

18. Texans RB Ben Tate - If you watched Houston's second preseason game, you know already: Tate is a powerful tackle breaker with surprising speed. Last year's 58th pick in the draft, Tate gives the Texans more of a bulldozer off the bench than Derrick Ward, making him a better fit as a change-up back for elusive Arian Foster. Tate has a ways to go to lock down the No. 2 back job, but early momentum is swinging in his favor. The Texans have arguably the best run-blocking line in football. If Tate beats out Ward and Foster gets injured, here's your new RB1.

19. Patriots RB Stevan Ridley - You look for lottery ticket RB5s in the late rounds, and Ridley is as good a bet as any. New England's backfield is awfully muddled, but Ridley has had the best preseason of all the backs and he's a more gifted, versatile version of BenJarvus Green-Ellis. Should Green-Ellis get hurt or the Pats turn over the reins to a more skilled option, Ridley will become a borderline every-week starter with double-digit scoring potential. Through two exhibition games, Ridley has 222 total yards, 10 receptions, three touchdowns, and a 4.93 YPC average.

20. Titans TE Jared Cook - Cook's playing time skyrocketed in the second preseason game, leaping from 33 percent of the snaps played in the opener to 61 percent last week. Often lining up in the slot or out wide, Cook also more than held his own as a blocker -- a trait that will lead to increased action. Cook was an immature 22- and 23-year-old in his first two seasons, but he's a man now at 24. Jake Locker already locks onto Cook, and Matt Hasselbeck will soon, too.

Bonus Three-Pack:

** 49ers RB Kendall Hunter - Take this to the bank: Lots of NFL teams will be kicking themselves in a few years -- or possibly a few months -- for passing on Hunter in the draft. A big-play back with dangerous acceleration and a second gear in the open field, Hunter easily beat Raiders CB Walter McFadden (4.39 40) to the house on his 53-yard TD in the second preseason game. Current Frank Gore backup Anthony Dixon is no slouch, but Hunter is likely to receive the majority of the touches should Gore go down. He's good enough to be worth a pick in all leagues.

** Falcons WR Harry Douglas - Facing first-team defenses, Douglas has compiled 134 yards and two TDs on five receptions through two weeks of preseason. We've seen the games, and Douglas is for real. He'll offer sneaky WR3 value in an offense that skews more toward the pass, and potentially flirt with every-week starter status if Julio Jones or Roddy White goes down.

** Eagles QBVince Young - Don't laugh. Michael Vick was in a similar situation last year, and exploded on the scene as -- by far -- the highest scoring fantasy quarterback in points per game after Kevin Kolb got hurt. V.Y. has been expectedly slow to pick up Philly's West Coast offense, but his talent will ultimately win out over Mike Kafka. We're looking at a top-ten fantasy QB if Vick gets hurt.

Fantasy leaguers should enter drafts with an aggressive approach. You've tracked offseason player movement, read camp reports, and watched exhibition games (or at least counted on us to do it for you). The heavy lifting is done, and now's the time to pick your league-winning roster. It's cliché by now, but trust your gut and don't worry about drafting a player you've targeted a round or two early if necessary.

These are the players we'll be targeting on draft day. They've been signed off on by Gregg Rosenthal, Chris Wesseling, Adam Levitan, and myself. (Or at least two of us.) You obviously won't be able to draft every one of them. But you've done well if you've got about eight.

Based on Average Draft Position, an impressive preseason showing, and/or training camp developments that spiked their value, these are our top-20 fantasy players to pursue in 2011 drafts.

1. Raiders RB Darren McFadden - Hue Jackson is the biggest McFadden supporter in the building, and as offensive coordinator last year gave DMC 18 or more touches in 10 of 13 games. Now head coach, Jackson will feature McFadden as his workhorse and offensive centerpiece. "This past year he had a tremendous season," Jackson said as camp opened. "I'm expecting him to just build on that." McFadden's 11 games of 114 or more total yards last season bettered Chris Johnson (8), Ray Rice (8), and Adrian Peterson (6). And McFadden missed three weeks.

2. Chargers WR Vincent Jackson - Rejuvenated after a holdout-ruined 2010 season, V-Jax is lighting up the preseason with acrobatic catches. Jackson has lined up in the slot and both outside positions, hauling in five of his seven targets for 117 yards (23.4 average). "Vincent Jackson being here at the start ... it's big," said coach Norv Turner after San Diego's exhibition opener. "He's one of the best big-play receivers in the league." Jackson is worth a second-round pick in standard scoring leagues and is likely headed for the best PPR season of his career.

3. Cowboys WR Dez Bryant - Ex-NFL scout Bryan Broaddus calls Bryant as a "sandlot player" whose lone obstacle is "the mental part." Bryant will be the freelancing complement to technical mavens Miles Austin and Jason Witten, creating physical mismatches in the vertical passing game while often drawing opponents' No. 2 corners and frequent single coverage. Bryant won't contend for the NFL lead in catches -- he has a long way to go in terms of route running and system comprehension -- but Vincent Jackson 2008-2009 yard and TD numbers are within reach.

4. Saints RB Mark Ingram - Ingram won't lead the league in carries, and he may not even reach 250 all-purpose touches in a three-way committee with Pierre Thomas and Darren Sproles. But Ingram will get an awful lot of scoring chances. Through two preseason games, Thomas hasn't played a single snap inside the opposing 20-yard line. Ingram has scored touchdowns from one and 14 yards out while operating as the Saints' primary red-zone back. As the designated rushing touchdown scorer in an offense that moves the chains at will, Ingram has 15-TD upside.

5. Vikings WR Percy Harvin - Brad Childress miscast Harvin as an outside receiver last season, resulting in only one game over 65 receiving yards in the first five weeks. Moved to the slot after the Randy Moss trade (and, later, Sidney Rice's return), Harvin exploded for an 80-yard average from late October on -- 1,285 yards if extrapolated over 16 weeks. Donovan McNabb has compared Harvin to DeSean Jackson, saying "there's no reason (Harvin) can't be a perennial Pro Bowler ... with over 1,000 yards receiving, 90-100 catches." Harvin hasn't had a migraine in eight months and will stay in the slot this season between Bernard Berrian and Michael Jenkins.

6. Falcons QBMatt Ryan - The point guard for what projects as a more up-tempo Atlanta attack, Ryan comes with Wesseling's approval as a dark-horse candidate to lead the league in touchdown passes. "The playcalling is going to be aggressive," described Roddy White of the new-look offense, patterned after Green Bay and New Orleans. OC Mike Mularkey has captained a short passing game to this point in Ryan's career, mostly because his pass catchers were predominantly of a possession variety. NFL-ready rookie Julio Jones and revitalized slot receiver Harry Douglas have broadened Mularkey's horizons. Ryan is a steal in the sixth round of drafts.

7. Cowboys RB Felix Jones - With Tashard Choice and brittle rookie DeMarco Murray nursing bum hamstrings for all of training camp, Jones hasn't just established himself as the lead back in a committee. He's an every-down back. "Ideally, you want to have a bell cow," coach Jason Garrett said this week. "I think (Jones) has proven that he's able to do that, over the last half of last year into the start of this training camp. He's playing awfully well." Jones has been in for every snap Dallas has taken inside the opposing 10-yard line during the preseason. His carry total and touchdowns will spike this season, and Jones only costs a mid to late fourth-round pick.

8. Lions QBMatthew Stafford - The Lions were a top-three team in pass attempts last season, and their philosophy will remain decidedly pass-heavy. Through two exhibition games, the Detroit first-team offense has been in the shotgun and/or no-huddle on 17-of-31 snaps (nearly 55 percent) with nine runs out of a pro-style set and just five traditional pass plays. This is a shotgun-spread offense, and Stafford has extremely high-quality pass catchers at receiver, tight end, and tailback. Health is obviously Stafford's biggest obstacle, but he's due for some good luck.

9. Cardinals RB Beanie Wells - The real Beanie averaged 4.51 yards per carry with seven TDs -- four from ten or more yards out -- as a rookie in '09. The playing-hurt Beanie sank to 3.42 YPC and two scores -- neither from further than two yards -- in last year's sophomore slump after early-September knee surgery. Now handed what may prove one of the NFL's biggest workloads following Ryan Williams' knee injury, Wells is setup to approach and maybe surpass 300 carries if he stays healthy. Even if Wells splits the 2009-2010 difference in terms of per-carry average on 275 rushing attempts, he'll flirt with 1,100 yards. And he has the potential for much, much more.

10. Giants WR Mario Manningham - We've touted Manningham since the winter, and folks are no longer sleeping on him. His ADP is up to the early sixth round, a reasonable target area for a player with 1,200 yards in his future if he stays healthy. Hakeem Nicks will command the double teams while Manningham feasts on man coverage downfield in a vertical-based Giants passing attack. On passing downs, the G-Men are giving Manningham a look in the slot in order to increase his run-after-catch opportunities. Manningham is still being drafted behind Jeremy Maclin, Brandon Lloyd, and Chad Ochocinco, and he's a fair bet to out-produce them all.

11. Texans TE Owen Daniels - Daniels is a testament to the depth available at tight end. Typically still on the board in the late-sixth and seventh rounds, a healthy Daniels will be the No. 2 option in Houston's passing game this year. You probably know he closed out last season strong, but less talked about is the fact that Daniels played 75 percent of the snaps in the final four games and has been even more of a first-team fixture this preseason. For such a blocking-deficient tight end, the Texans find creative ways to keep Daniels on the field as a playmaking pass catcher.

12. Redskins RB Tim Hightower - Washington opened camp with its starting O-Line named, and the unit hasn't missed a day of practice in August. That's enviable continuity, and it's showed up this preseason. Hightower has stared at massive, gaping holes with Mike Shanahan's zone-blocking system hitting on all cylinders. Hightower is effective in all facets of the passing game, so we're talking about a potential every-down back here. Three of the Redskins' first three opponents (STL, ARZ, DAL) also project as mediocre-to-bad run defenses. Expect a fast start.

13. Falcons WR Julio Jones - We knew about Jones' physicality and ability to make plays in traffic from his time at Alabama. What we discovered this preseason is that Jones' timed speed at the Combine is more indicative of his skill set than college tape. Jones played in a deliberate offense for the Crimson Tide, quarterbacked by weak-armed, late-round talent Greg McElroy. In exhibition games, Jones has been the fastest player on the field more often than not. He's going to push for WR2 numbers as a rookie, and suck some life out of Roddy White's counting stats.

14. Rams QBSam Bradford - The Rams' first-team preseason pass-to-run ratio has been balanced (28:23), but the vanilla looks will turn pass-heavy when real games begin. Bradford has "only" lined up in the shotgun on 19-of-51 snaps (37 percent), and we know from Josh McDaniels' history that St. Louis will have more of a spread than pro-style look. Behind one of the NFL's top young offensive lines, Bradford will air it out early and often. A candidate to lead the league in attempts, Bradford is an ideal QB2. The supporting cast may be unproven, but there isn't enough of a talent shortage to prevent Bradford from posting top-10 QB stats if the volume is there.

15. Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski - While Aaron Hernandez remains a situational passing-down tight end, Gronkowski has emerged as a full-time player in his second season, seeing 95.1 percent of New England's first-team offensive snaps this preseason. The playing-time leap actually began late last year with Alge Crumpler banged up. "Gronk" took over as the Pats' lead player at the position with just three snaps of rest in the final three games (including playoffs). He racked up 14 catches for 221 yards and three touchdowns in those contests. Having separated from Hernandez with a beastly training camp, Gronkowski is a steal at his current middle-of-the-tenth-round ADP.

16. Saints WR Lance Moore - Moore only played 50.7 percent of the Saints' offensive downs last year. During the 2011 preseason, New Orleans has played 39 first-team snaps, and Moore has been in for 33 (84.6 percent). With Marques Colston sidelined for the Saints' opener, Moore was a perfect 20-for-20. He'll be looking at an every-down receiver role if Colston's knees act up during the season, which is certainly a possibility after the fifth knee surgery of his career. Even if Colston makes it 16 games, Moore is in store for a heavily increased role this year.

17. Jaguars RB Rashad Jennings - Whether or not Maurice Jones-Drew (knee) makes it through a full season, the Jaguars' coaching staff has big plans for its backup tailback. Jennings has earned it. Excellent in pass protection and as a receiver, Jennings is averaging 6.28 yards per touch in his last six games, and for good measure tacked on 4.67 yards per carry against the Patriots' first-team defense in the preseason opener. This isn't a player to be taken lightly. Because of his three-down tools, it's not crazy to think Jennings will make the Jags' backfield a committee this year. He's that good, and the team must find a way to lighten Jones-Drew's load.

18. Texans RB Ben Tate - If you watched Houston's second preseason game, you know already: Tate is a powerful tackle breaker with surprising speed. Last year's 58th pick in the draft, Tate gives the Texans more of a bulldozer off the bench than Derrick Ward, making him a better fit as a change-up back for elusive Arian Foster. Tate has a ways to go to lock down the No. 2 back job, but early momentum is swinging in his favor. The Texans have arguably the best run-blocking line in football. If Tate beats out Ward and Foster gets injured, here's your new RB1.

19. Patriots RB Stevan Ridley - You look for lottery ticket RB5s in the late rounds, and Ridley is as good a bet as any. New England's backfield is awfully muddled, but Ridley has had the best preseason of all the backs and he's a more gifted, versatile version of BenJarvus Green-Ellis. Should Green-Ellis get hurt or the Pats turn over the reins to a more skilled option, Ridley will become a borderline every-week starter with double-digit scoring potential. Through two exhibition games, Ridley has 222 total yards, 10 receptions, three touchdowns, and a 4.93 YPC average.

20. Titans TE Jared Cook - Cook's playing time skyrocketed in the second preseason game, leaping from 33 percent of the snaps played in the opener to 61 percent last week. Often lining up in the slot or out wide, Cook also more than held his own as a blocker -- a trait that will lead to increased action. Cook was an immature 22- and 23-year-old in his first two seasons, but he's a man now at 24. Jake Locker already locks onto Cook, and Matt Hasselbeck will soon, too.

Bonus Three-Pack:

** 49ers RB Kendall Hunter - Take this to the bank: Lots of NFL teams will be kicking themselves in a few years -- or possibly a few months -- for passing on Hunter in the draft. A big-play back with dangerous acceleration and a second gear in the open field, Hunter easily beat Raiders CB Walter McFadden (4.39 40) to the house on his 53-yard TD in the second preseason game. Current Frank Gore backup Anthony Dixon is no slouch, but Hunter is likely to receive the majority of the touches should Gore go down. He's good enough to be worth a pick in all leagues.

** Falcons WR Harry Douglas - Facing first-team defenses, Douglas has compiled 134 yards and two TDs on five receptions through two weeks of preseason. We've seen the games, and Douglas is for real. He'll offer sneaky WR3 value in an offense that skews more toward the pass, and potentially flirt with every-week starter status if Julio Jones or Roddy White goes down.

** Eagles QBVince Young - Don't laugh. Michael Vick was in a similar situation last year, and exploded on the scene as -- by far -- the highest scoring fantasy quarterback in points per game after Kevin Kolb got hurt. V.Y. has been expectedly slow to pick up Philly's West Coast offense, but his talent will ultimately win out over Mike Kafka. We're looking at a top-ten fantasy QB if Vick gets hurt.